FRANCE 24 report: India’s Gen Z protesters find gaps in security clampdown

When the Kokoro Janata Party called for their second major protest on October 10th, the government responded by a massive crackdown. Protesters got immediately detained as they tried to reach Jantar Mantar, the site of the demonstration. Amid a total shutdown in the area, the internet was blocked within a 4-kilometer radius. Fighting back the police, some demonstrators managed to escape. So they unleashed the ugliest and the most, you know, suppressive form of their state on trying to curb dissent in the nation. And we also found ways around it. We had different forms where apps which would work on Bluetooth and we connected over that. They used a Bluetooth mesh-based app which allows messages jump from phone to phone with each device capable of forwarding it further. One such app is BitSocial. Its developer, Rahul Kumar, says over 200 protesters used it during the demonstration. If you're using Bluetooth, you can only transmit messages over a distance of a few metres. But by using multiple devices, you can transmit data over a larger area. Unable to join the protest in person, this app is his way of showing solidarity. This internet outage is like silencing people. In a true democracy, I don't think it's a good thing that if you don't agree with someone, then you silence their voice. It is like killing democracy. It's not the first time that the Indian government has shut down the internet to suppress protests. According to Access Now, an NGO monitoring blackouts, in 2025, India cut internet access 65 times, the highest in a democracy.